Lonely No More
by Jessica L. Pearson
Summary: Teddy lets Mark in.


She idles in the doorway of her rented cottage, porch light on and lighting the bushes as Mark stands just below the step like he's not interested in entering her space. In fact, he's been like this for the four dates they've been on in the last 3 weeks: plenty of space between them, staring at her eyes while they talk, and yet to make a move. She's typically the kind of girl who makes the first move without hesitation, just eager to get over that first awkward touch, but she's heard about Mark Sloan, the man who is never hesitant to make a move when he is interested. She thinks, even though Arizona may have been right at first in saying he was a candy bar, he's the one who wanted to take it slow and see if they are interested in the same things and to see if they want the same kind of future, so he reserves the right to make the first move, or so she thinks.

Twisting her keys in her grasp, she leans back against the wall and debates whether she should extend an offer to invite him; the implications of the question would be detrimental to where this is going between them, but she's nervous because she doesn't know how he feels. She's heard rumors down the vine passed to her from Arizona ("Callie says he really like you."), but she's yet to get any inclination from him to secure that it's the actual truth. A small smile spreads over her lips as her heart beat jumps to her throat and she decides to go for it.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Absolutely."

She pulls open the storm door and slides her key into the lock, reminding herself to breathe and not to appear too eager; like that would really take this places, she smirks – thank God her back is to him. She pushes the door open and braces herself for the paws to race across the floor towards the entryway; she's a sucker, she knows, she wasn't ever supposed to get a dog but she was lonely and needed a friend. The dog barks upon seeing Mark and she attempts to 'shoosh' him – patiently and calmly, she reminds herself, so Mark can remain jaded about the real her.

"Sorry. He gets excited when I walk in the door."

"I didn't know you had a dog."

The storm door slams behind them and she pats the dog on the head before he can graze passed her and greet the stranger, and she tosses her keys onto the table in the entryway. She crosses her arms over her chest as Mark pets her dog, allowing him to jump onto his thighs with a grin. She has to admit, getting to know Mark as a person has been interesting and she's beginning to see what Lexie Grey could have seen in him.

"His name is Orion."

"He's such a beautiful dog," Mark comments with the slightest hint of a smirk.

She taps Orion's shoulder and gently pushes him off of Mark so she can give him the grand tour of the living room, kitchen, bathroom – things that are more typically a need to know basis than others before stepping out back to let Orion out.

"He's about 2 years old. I adopted him from animal rescue about a month and a half ago for some company."

She tosses him a lopsided smile and he nods as if he knows exactly how she feels. She stares at him as she cuddles herself, after having discarded her coat in the living room and suddenly becoming increasingly aware of how cold Seattle can be if you're wearing a dress without a coat this time of year. He digs his hands into his pockets and she wonders if she's really so dense that she didn't get it before now; he's lonely, too.

Somehow, they end up sitting on the floor in front of her couch with glasses of wine and the fireplace lit, and she has to admit that she's impressed that he knows his way around a fireplace (then again, why wouldn't he?); she finds herself smiling involuntarily and she almost feels incredibly stupid. She almost forgets there was ever an Owen Hunt and that she had fallen in love with him and that when he broke things off with Beth he shouldn't have called her – maybe she'd never really given him a reason, maybe she isn't giving Mark a reason to either. She sips on her glass of red wine that she hadn't known she'd had until she rifled through some cabinets and she isn't even sure that it's safe to be drinking.

"I'm an idiot."

She drops her eyes to the floor between them and notices that he kicked his shoes off at the door, black sock clad feet crossed at the ankles as his hands rest in his lap. The fire crackles and she lightly shakes her head as she lifts her gaze back to his and offers him a smile. She feels his eyes on her and she thinks that maybe he's not disinterested; maybe he's just trying something new. She thinks maybe she'll have to give him a reason.

"What makes you say that?"

"I didn't get it. I didn't understand that other people go through things and don't talk about them either, like I'm the only one who goes through things or something."

"People see what they want to see."

"Have you always been like this?"

"Yes." She can hear his breathing, maybe she's listening for it, or maybe she's just once again making something up all in her head. He offers her a smile and lifts his hand from his lap, hesitantly dragging his hand through the stray hairs that hadn't been able to become tangled in the loose bun on top of her head. "Have you always been like this?"

"Like what?"

She feels her heart jump into her throat again as his fingers absently brush against her skin, and she doesn't know if she believes what's happening or if she's making it up. She swallows in an attempt to send her heart beat back to her chest, twisting the stem of her glass in her hand. She wonders if she can remember in the morning how this happens.

"I just wanted to know you, Teddy."

"Oh," she hitches out; shit, she thinks – she's more upset about this than she thought she would be – "okay."

"I'm attracted to you, Teddy."

She thinks that time stops as he leans towards her and his lips lightly touch hers. His lips are soft and she wonders if she's responding to his kiss because her body wants to, but her mind has frozen and she can't seem to complete a single thought that's running through her head. Finally, her eyes drift closed as she pushes her lips into his and she thinks that maybe she can give him a reason.


End file.
